Sanford, North Carolina

Lee County’s Dillon signs with Arizona Cardinals

Lee County High School graduate and Campbell University senior Danny Dillon signed a free agent contract with the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday, less than an hour after the end of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Dillon, a two-year letterman at Lee County who caught 21 passes for 320 yards and 6 touchdowns in his senior year, made a name for himself as a deep snapper and special teams player at Campbell. He played 43 career games at Campbell, and in that span, the Camels ranked among the top special teams units in the FCS. He became the second Camel to sign an NFL contract, coming in just minutes after defensive tackle Greg Milhouse signed with the New York Giants.

According to the Fayetteville Observer, Dillon had been followed closely by Arizona’s scouts, and he was expecting a call from the club after the draft.

“I had been talking to them for couple of months already,” he told the Observer. “They had even come to Campbell to watch me work out for them. But it was still surreal when the call came. It was just such a big relief because it was such a long wait.”

According to the blog “Raising Arizona,” Dillon has a good chance of making the final roster. Veteran Cardinals long snapper Mike Leach retired after the 2015 season.

“It is very unlikely that the Cardinals have decided to make Dillon the future long snapper outright,” according to the blog. “[Head Coach] Bruce Arians says jobs are just never handed out. Given the culture, the Cardinals will most likely bring ing more undrafted free agents in to compete with Dillon.”